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The mysterious case of missing HK publisher, Gui Minhai

Publisher Causeway Bay Books ,Lam Wing-kee (left) is in a press conference in Hong Kong, after coming back from China Mainland. (Photo: Antara)

Ric Wasserman, Kannikar Petchkeaw

Last October Gui
Minhai, the publisher at Mighty Current was sitting at his beachside apartment
in Thailand. Then he was gone. In a matter of weeks, four more Chinese, Hong
Kong publishers also disappeared.

It’s believed
they were captured by Chinese agents because their books were critical of the seniors
members of the Chinese Communist Party.

In a surprise
turn, one of the five publishers, Lam Wing-kee was released last week. He told reporters
in Hong Kong how he was blindfolded, put on a train, interrogated and held in a
small room for months.

But Mr. Lam was
only released on the promise he would return to the Chinese mainland with a
database of customers who had bought books from his store, Causeway Bay Books.

The facts
surrounding the disappearance of Gui, a Swedish citizen, are still unknown.

Ric Wasserman
brings us the latest chapter in the story from Stockholm. With additional reporting from Kannikar Petchkeaw in Thailand.

Angela Minhai gave witness to the United States congressional
committee about her fears that her father was kidnapped from his home in
Pattaya, Thailand, nine months ago.

“In the so called confession, my father’s apparent
confession, he says he travelled to China voluntarily. If this is true we can
wonder why there is no record of him having left Thailand. Only a state agency
acting coercively could achieve such a disappearance,” says Angela Minhai.

Gui is a Swedish citizen.

“My father called me. I still haven’t been told where
he is, how he is being treated, or what his legal status is, which is
especially shocking in the light of the fact that my father holds Swedish, and
only Swedish, citizenship,” said Angela Minhai.

His medicine and clothes remained behind. Gui called
his daughter from China and told her to keep quiet about the case.

And then he turned up in China, on Chinese state TV,
confessing to being involved in a hit-and-run accident 10 years ago.

“We continue to ask for clarification on this case and
on the man’s condition… and we continue to ask to visit him,” Ekberg stated.

Febraury 24th was the last time Swedish authorities
were permitted to visit Gui Minhai. Sweden is China’s biggest trading partner
in Scandinavia.

Quiet diplomacy is what the Swedes call their
approach.

“We have on several occasions met with Chinese authorities,
Thai authorities and HK authorities on the matter. First of all we’d like a
second meeting with our Swedish citizen,” Ekberg explained.

The Swedish government is aware of the other Chinese
publishers who’ve gone missing and say they are waiting for a report from the
countries involved.

Causeway Bay Books, where Gui and the other missing
booksellers worked is known for its racy stories on the Chinese political
elite.

The company had recently printed 100,000 copies of a
book on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s love life.

In Thailand, where Gui Minhai was apparently abducted
by the Chinese, a military government is in place – making it almost impossible
to get information, says long-time human rights defender, Pornpen
Khongkachonkiet.

“In Thailand we don’t have the proper mechanism for
making a complaint. That’s why we don’t hear very much when people are
abducted,” Khongkachonkiet explains.

Amnesty International has been working to shed light
on the Gui Minhai’s case since his disappearance. Before him, Li Bo disappeared,
sparking protests in Hong Kong, says Amnesty spokesman in Hong Kong, William
Nee.

Li holds a British passport.

“There have been several protests but the main one was
after Li Bo went missing. And this was very shocking to people in Hong Kong,”
Nee says.

This was also unprecedented.

“Essentially a HK citizen was taken away, it’s still
not clear if by mainland authorities or authorities working with mainland
authorities – taken away back to the mainland. This really shocked people,” Nee
stated.